Jesse White to seek 6th term as secretary of state

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Jesse White to seek 6th term as secretary of state

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Secretary of State Jesse White says he’ll seek a sixth term in 2018.

The 83-year-old Democrat told a crowd of 1,800 at a party brunch in Springfield on Thursday, “I’m your man.” The brunch was hosted by the Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association on Democrats Day and usually precedes a rally at the Illinois State Fair. But the rally was canceled this year.

White was elected secretary of state in 1998. He earlier announced he would not run again but changed his mind. The former state representative and Cook County recorder of deeds is a popular vote-getter. He’s been credited with ending long lines at driver’s license facilities.

He succeeded George Ryan. Republican Ryan was elected governor in 1998 and later went to federal prison for political corruption largely tied to his time as secretary of state.